HEALTHY PETS DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your own veterinarian or doctor. Dr. Karen Becker cannot answer specific questions about your pet's medical issues or make medical recommendations for your pet without first establishing a veterinarian-client-patient relationship. Your pet's medical protocol should be given by your holistic veterinarian.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Mercola.com is required.

Nestlé Purina TV Ad is Going to the Dogs

Story at-a-glance -

A new TV commercial for dog food incorporates tones and sounds appealing to dogs.

Nestlé wants you to view their dog food as <i>“… one which understands the unique relationship between owners and their dogs.”</i>

Appealing advertising campaigns often don’t reflect the true quality of the product being sold.

By Dr. Becker

Picture this …

You and your favorite canine buddy are hanging out together at home.

The TV is on in the background. Suddenly your dog looks toward the screen and his ears perk up.

Then he quickly stands, wagging his tail, and inches closer to the set.

With his eyes fixed on the screen, he cocks his head in that irresistible way he has. You swear he's smiling.

You look at what he's looking at, and it's a commercial for a popular dog food. You have no idea why your adorable pooch is so spellbound by the commercial.

But what is the likelihood you'll remember his reaction the next time you see that particular brand of dog food in the store?

There's a pretty good chance, don't you think?

Dog Food Marketed Directly to Dogs

The diabolically clever pet food marketers are at it again!

Believe it or not, Nestlé Purina has introduced a pet food commercial in Austria that uses high-frequency tones and other sounds known to catch the attention of dogs.

These sounds include a squeak like the noise a dog toy makes, a tone similar to a dog whistle, a soft, high-pitched ping, and whispering.

If you pay attention you'll hear the squeak, the ping and the whispering, but probably not the high-frequency tone. Your dog, of course, will hear all four, and may or may not have an observable reaction.

The sounds aimed at the dogs are designed not to detract from the message being delivered to their human owners.

"We wanted to create a TV commercial that our four-legged friends can enjoy and listen to, but also allow the owner and dog to experience it together," said Anna Rabanus of Nestlé Purina PetCare Germany.

And according to Xavier Perez of Nestlé Purina PetCare Europe:

"The television commercial aims to reach both the pet and the owner, supporting the special one-to-one relationship between them."

"We want to position our brand as one which understands the unique relationship between owners and their dogs."

Pardon my cynicism, but despite the cleverly crafted spin about owners and dogs sharing a special moment together watching a TV commercial, I think what the company actually set out to create was an ad that would cause their dog food to fly off store shelves.

Toward that end, CSMonitor.com makes this observation:

It's unclear whether appealing directly to nonhumans will pay off for Nestlé. On the one hand, according to traditional free-market economic theories, manufacturers direct their solicitations to rational agents who trade their currency for goods and services. Dogs, while they may very well be rational, lack purchasing power and can make consumer choices only by proxy, presumably by pestering their owners.

On the other hand, the same is true for children, and manufacturers have little difficulty marketing their products to them.

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HEALTHY PETS DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your own veterinarian or doctor. Dr. Karen Becker cannot answer specific questions about your pet's medical issues or make medical recommendations for your pet without first establishing a veterinarian-client-patient relationship. Your pet's medical protocol should be given by your holistic veterinarian.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Mercola.com is required.